Start Date
5-6-2013 2:00 PM
End Date
5-6-2013 3:10 PM
Description
On November 19, 2012, foul odor was reported in communities that form part of the 11-kilometer length of the Cabacawan Creek in Bacolod City, Philippines. The creek, prior to its final flow into the sea, passes along the southwestern rim of the University of St. La Salle, where the university community also reported the smell of stench. University personnel also reported seeing dead fishes (Janitor fish species) carried downstream. The incident triggered a massive concern from the city government and environment groups, including the current Community Communication Class of the Communication Department of the University of St. La Salle.
Earlier in the academic year, the University launched the Cabacawan Creek restoration, a social innovation program, as among its four community-focused flagship programs as part of its ongoing 60th anniversary celebration.
For these reasons, the class eventually decided to engage in a series of coordinated civic-oriented activities, in support of the university flagship program, that would utilize student skills in various phases of communication, particularly along information, promotion and education campaigns – from research and planning, implementing, organizing and evaluation of the initiatives -- that will make residents of communities along the creek flow to be aware of the need to help conserve the environment by making waterways safe and clean, considering that a number of businesses and residents indiscriminately throw their wastes and garbage into these waterways.
Following the initial campaign – which included combined strategies in group communication, dialogue and focused group discussion, a study was conducted for community participants and another for class members to identify, among others, outcomes and reinforcements on civic and academic learning, attitudinal dimensions and skills development.
Thus, this paper has a two-fold value: it looks into the initial reaction or effects of the IEC program among residents of the selected pilot community and on students – on motivating factors that encouraged and heightened their participation, the application of their course-learned skills and the extent of their learning along civics and citizenship. At the same time, it will indicate the ways by which the student learning has been assessed.
Recommended Citation
Del Carmen, A. (2013, June). Environmental information & education campaign in a pilot creek community: A civic engagement and learning experience of communication students of the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City, Philippines. Paper presented at the 4th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning: Service-Learning as a Bridge from Local to Global: Connected world, Connected future, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.
Included in
Environmental information & education campaign in a pilot creek community : a civic engagement and learning experience of communication students of the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City, Philippines
On November 19, 2012, foul odor was reported in communities that form part of the 11-kilometer length of the Cabacawan Creek in Bacolod City, Philippines. The creek, prior to its final flow into the sea, passes along the southwestern rim of the University of St. La Salle, where the university community also reported the smell of stench. University personnel also reported seeing dead fishes (Janitor fish species) carried downstream. The incident triggered a massive concern from the city government and environment groups, including the current Community Communication Class of the Communication Department of the University of St. La Salle.
Earlier in the academic year, the University launched the Cabacawan Creek restoration, a social innovation program, as among its four community-focused flagship programs as part of its ongoing 60th anniversary celebration.
For these reasons, the class eventually decided to engage in a series of coordinated civic-oriented activities, in support of the university flagship program, that would utilize student skills in various phases of communication, particularly along information, promotion and education campaigns – from research and planning, implementing, organizing and evaluation of the initiatives -- that will make residents of communities along the creek flow to be aware of the need to help conserve the environment by making waterways safe and clean, considering that a number of businesses and residents indiscriminately throw their wastes and garbage into these waterways.
Following the initial campaign – which included combined strategies in group communication, dialogue and focused group discussion, a study was conducted for community participants and another for class members to identify, among others, outcomes and reinforcements on civic and academic learning, attitudinal dimensions and skills development.
Thus, this paper has a two-fold value: it looks into the initial reaction or effects of the IEC program among residents of the selected pilot community and on students – on motivating factors that encouraged and heightened their participation, the application of their course-learned skills and the extent of their learning along civics and citizenship. At the same time, it will indicate the ways by which the student learning has been assessed.